Well...you guys may remember that I had a Black RX8 with the black and red leather interior a few years back, but that was a company lease car through Ford.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a Pearlescent White Mazdaspeed6, and this is the first time I've had a chance to take any pictures of it.

First, the obligatory nose-shot with the keys, a note, and the manual:

...and now a few shots of the car itself. It's an '06, used, with relatively heavily tinted windows. I'm planning on having the tint removed, but haven't had the time. I picked it up in Houston and drove it back to Ann Arbor over the course of 2 days before Labor Day Weekend, and the thing just runs like a top. It's got a surprising amount of mid-range urge, and the gearing is quite short, so you definitely feel like you are moving a lot faster than you actually are. You have to make 2 shifts to make it to 60mph, and at 80mph in 6th, the engine is turning about 3100rpm. The suspension and chassis are definitely stiffer than our old V6 Mazda6, or the Mazda6i that one of my friends has. That being said, it's impressively refined despite all of that and the fact that it has 45-series tires. I will say that it sounds pretty uninspired, and I wouldn't mind a bit more aural "oomph", so I may pop for a GHL/Corksport/Magnaflow/Borla exhaust system to free up a bit more power and noise, but I also want to keep it a bit of a sleeper and a cruiser, as I'll be making regular trips of around 400 miles in the next few months.

Anyway, hope you enjoy it, and if you want pictures of specific bits, let me know, I'll be happy to take some more pics, though I may wait until I wash it next.

The Vespa is actually my primary means of transport around town, as parking is free, easy to come-by, and it gets around 75-80mpg. Before you all start berating me on the fact that I ride a dumb little scooter, keep in mind the following:

1. I won it by dropping a business card into a hat at the Ann Arbor Art Fair 2 years ago.

2. It cost $3200 new, all I had to do was pay taxes on it and a registration fee.

3. It has a cross-drilled front rotor and hydraulic brakes (pretty snazzy for a 50cc put-put)

__________________
me-- "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. Sometimes I feel like the moon is made of cheese"

my Hindibonics-speaking Indian roommate--"Dawgs, do you have any idea how much bacteria that would take?"

I'm pretty happy with her so far. They aren't known for being the most reliable things on the road though. The rear diff is from the RX8, and it works just fine, but the bolts that affix the diff to the chassis are known for being relatively weak, so if you do a lot of "launching", it can shear those bolts and cause major driveline issues. I'm not really planning on doing any drag racing with it though...just a daily driver that I might take to a couple of track days here and there.

__________________
me-- "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. Sometimes I feel like the moon is made of cheese"

my Hindibonics-speaking Indian roommate--"Dawgs, do you have any idea how much bacteria that would take?"

Well, it's been a few years since I've updated this thread with any new material. As it sits now, my 2006 MS6 has ~112k miles, and has had a host updates and repairs in the last few years.

In no particular order, these are the things I've had to replace/warranty/repair:
- Transmission top seal
- Passenger-side motor mount
- All of the front suspension bushings
- 1 full set of brake pads, and the front rotors (not too bad, given that the car has so many miles)
- Front splitter
- Thermostat
- Key fob
- 2 sets of spark plugs (1-step colder than stock)
...and soon I'll have to do the VVT Actuator (for which I have an upgraded unit), timing chain, and the chain guides.

At the moment, the car puts down 295 whp and 335 wtq at 18.5psi of boost. Furthermore, even tuned, I manage 32mpg on the highway (U.S. Gallons), and the best I've ever managed is 37.5mpg on a highway trip following a semi for a significant portion of the trip.

__________________
me-- "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. Sometimes I feel like the moon is made of cheese"

my Hindibonics-speaking Indian roommate--"Dawgs, do you have any idea how much bacteria that would take?"

Thanks! What you can't see is that there's a bit of hail damage (the car has lived outside since I got it in 2009), and the paint has seen better days, as there's a fair amount of road rash from all the highway driving I've done. That said, I've tried to keep it washed/waxed and undercoated, so it's still in pretty good shape.

The mods aren't done yet! I'm going to be working on my tune some more once the weather gets warmer. I expect to see a little over 310 awhp and around 350 awtq. Eventually, I'll have to throw on a larger-diameter intake system and I'd like to add a GTX2867 as well. Properly tuned, that turbo will put out around 400awhp and 400awtq while maintaining decent spool characteristics. That should mean around 22psi of boost at 3000rpm ramping up to 25 or 26psi.

In the meantime, the car is running just fine (knock wood), and remains daily-driven in all weather conditions.

I haven't decided how far I want to take it, but that car could be SERIOUSLY quick under the right circumstances and with the right modifications. Here's a video of the current world record holder:

Looks like your 6 is pretty potent! Getting close to 300 AWHP is always very impressive!

It certainly doesn't feel as flabby as it is (~3600lbs) at this point. I'm hoping that in the relatively near future, I can swap in that GTX2867 though, as it'll be pretty fascinating to see how differently it drives after that.

__________________
me-- "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. Sometimes I feel like the moon is made of cheese"

my Hindibonics-speaking Indian roommate--"Dawgs, do you have any idea how much bacteria that would take?"